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On February 4, Toyota expanded its company investigation of the Prius breaking system problems to a “cousin” of that car, the Toyota Lexus hybrid. Despite the early reports from Japan yesterday, at this time no recalls are planned for either the Prius or the Lexus. According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, a Toyota spokesman says that the breaking systems on the Prius and Lexus are quite similar. In fact, the mechanical parts that compose the breaks in the 2010 Prius are identical to the ones used in the Lexus....

Like any other holiday, Halloween is not without its health hazards. With all the extra people out on the streets and the holiday excitement in the air, you never know what can ensue. Here are 10 potential Halloween health hazards that you should beware of this year: Expired or foreign candy. Inspect all your children’s treats and make sure you throw out all suspicious treats that aren’t packaged properly, look expired, or are homemade – these could carry food-borne illness....

A 96-year-old songwriter behind the love ballad “Oh Sweet Lorraine” is striking auditory gold. Fred Stobaugh’s chart-topping tearjerker is about his late wife of 75 years [insert your “aw!” here]. The song, performed by singer Jacob Colgan, has sold more than 100,000 copies on iTunes, which is more than Justin Timberlake and Miley Cyrus’ newest singles, reports TMZ. But how is the ol’ romantic raking in the dough from the song?...

Apple filed a patent lawsuit against online retailers for allegedly selling knock off power adapters for use with the company’s portable MacBook and MacBook Pro computers. Apple’s lawsuit against Media Solutions Holdings, LLC, eReplacements, LLC, and Laptops for Less, LLC has some nice pictures comparing Apple’s product against the copy. The defendants apparent clone sure looks like a darn tootin’ copy of Apple’s product. Take a look for yourself. The defendants sell power adapters through three (3) websites: www....

The director of a prominent cancer research institute has issued a memo to his 3,000 faculty and staff members, warning of a possible link between cell phone use and the development of cancer, and urging that use of handheld cell phones be limited, the Associated Press is reporting. The warning from Dr. Ronald Herberman, head of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, is based on “early unpublished data” according to the AP, but Herberman believes people should take action now since “it takes too long to get answers from science....

The Vatican assassin is winning again. While most of the celebrity-obsessed world was clamoring around the “Charlie Sheen Fired!” headlines yesterday, another nugget of our favorite up-to-the-minute train wreck came to light. “We do whatever Charlie wants us to do. This is the type of lifestyle I’ve always wanted, and I’m thrilled with it. Many men would kill for this,” one of the Charlie Sheen girlfriends told the New York Post of their relationship, which she described as “the wedge....

A new trend in eye-wear is circulating, and it could be dangerous: circle lenses. Circle contact lenses are eye lenses that cover not only the iris of the eyes, but part of the whites as well. This design gives the wearer an especially doe-eyed or wide-eyed look and is an increasingly popular trend among teens and younger adults. The circle lenses can be bought online for $20 or $30 a pair....

A voluntary fuel gel recall has been announced. The use of these fuel gels, used in decorative patio lighting, can result in firepots exploding and causing burns to consumers, the Consumer Product Safety Commission reports. The CPSC says that it has received reports of at least 75 injuries from the fuel gel products, with 34 people hospitalized and 2 deaths. The risk is especially high when consumers are pouring the fuel gels into firepots that are already lit, as the flames can be difficult to see, reports CNN....

The Gangsta’s Paradise hitmaker Coolio is now a fugitive rapper wanted on a bench warrant for missing a court date. The rapper Coolio, whose real name is Artis Leon Ivey Jr., failed show up to court for a legally mandated progress report, MTV reports. A judge issued a $10,000 bench warrant for the 46-year-old Grammy winner. In general, a bench warrant is a process that is initiated by the court to the police with the purpose of directing a person’s arrest....

James Cameron has been sued by a former employee over his blockbuster sci-fi film Avatar. The lawsuit, filed by Eric Ryder, alleges that Cameron’s company Lightstorm Entertainment pilfered the story from him. This isn’t the first time that Cameron and his crew faced scrutiny over the film’s origins. Internet users even derided the film as simply being Disney’s Pocahontas in space. If you analyze the two films’ plots, Avatar does seem a little reminiscent of the classic animated movie....

A Reuters investigation into Taser use in just one Ohio jail turned up more than a dozen stun-gun videos that have families of the victims, state legislators, and even United Nations torture experts calling for criminal inquiries into the incidents. Officers at the Franklin County Jail were found to have used Tasers on 80 inmates over the course of two years, 60 percent of whom were classified by the jail as intoxicated or mentally ill....

A family in Connecticut was ripped apart when a report of robbery led to a father who mistakenly shot his son. Jeffrey Giuliano’s sister called him last week to say someone was trying to break into her home. Giuliano took his gun and went next door to check on his sister. He confronted the alleged robber who was wearing a ski mask and black clothing and carrying a knife. The masked person came at Giuliano so he fired his gun....

A statement by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department was released on July 8 announcing they had begun an investigation of the domestic violence charges made by Oksana Grigorieva, ex-girlfriend of actor Mel Gibson. Alleged to have taken place January 6 of this year, Grigorieva has made claims that Gibson punched her in the face “more than once”, knocking out a veneer, causing a concussion and a broken tooth. In reply to the allegations of the attack, Gibson claims he was trying to prevent Grigorieva from shaking their daughter, 8 month-old Lucia, according to FOXNews....

The California Supreme Court unanimously upheld Manhattan Beach’s plastic bag ban on Thursday, ruling that the small Southern California beach town was not required to conduct a full-scale environmental review before enacting legislation. Though there was no question that cities have the power to enact such a ban, the court’s decision will make it much easier for smaller localities to ban plastic bags without incurring significant costs. Save the Plastic Bag Coalition, a group of plastic bag manufacturers and distributors, have been challenging bans across the state, particularly when municipalities fail to conduct a full-blown Environmental Impact Review (EIR)....

Warrantless GPS tracking will make its way to the Supreme Court this week, when the justices are scheduled to hear oral arguments in U.S. v. Jones. The court will consider whether police must first obtain a warrant before placing a GPS device on a suspect’s car. More specifically, the Court is tasked with deciding whether the Fourth Amendment bans warrantless GPS tracking when it lasts for an entire month. The D....

Have you ever read a suspiciously glowing review on a site like iTunes or Yelp and wondered whether it is legitimate? A recent settlement shows that at least one company, California based Reverb Communications, was posting fake iTunes reviews between November 2008 and May 2009. According to the FTC, Reverb Communications and its owner, Tracie Snitker, created several fake iTunes accounts. They then used the accounts to post a number of positive reviews about their clients’ apps in order to inflate their ratings....

Oscar-winner Reese Witherspoon was hit by a car while she went jogging in Santa Monica. Police in Santa Monica confirmed that the actress was jogging around 11:00 a.m. Wednesday when she was struck, Reuters reports. Witherspoon, 35, is recovering at home after receiving treatment for minor injuries. Police say the driver, an 84-year-old woman from Santa Monica, was going about 20 mph when she hit Witherspoon. The driver, whose identity has not been released, was cited for failing to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk and released....

San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi pleaded guilty to false imprisonment in a deal that effectively ends his high-profile domestic-violence case. Mirkarimi, 50, was charged with domestic violence, battery, child endangerment, and dissuading a witness in connection with an alleged incident involving his wife, the San Francisco Examiner reports. Those charges were dropped in exchange for Mirkarimi’s guilty plea on a misdemeanor false imprisonment charge. So what is false imprisonment? False imprisonment is the intentional, unlawful restraint of a person against that person’s will....

The abortion debate takes place on many different battlefields. Of course, there are legal regulations about when a woman can obtain an abortion, where, and from whom. But there are more subtle skirmishes on the periphery of those laws, regarding notification, consent, and the even kind of information a woman must be shown before electing to terminate a pregnancy. One of those clashes involved so-called “crisis pregnancy centers” in California – pro-life and largely Christian belief-based organizations that, while offering a limited range of pregnancy options and counseling, nonetheless “aim to discourage and prevent women from seeking abortions....

Call it the Sandusky effect. There has been an increase in sex abuse reporting since the Penn State/Jerry Sandusky scandal made national headlines. Oftentimes, these reports are being made by victims who claimed abuse decades ago. While advocates say there tends to be a noticeable increase in sex abuse reporting following most national stories, they say that there has been an extraordinary boost in reporting since the Sandusky story, reports the Charlotte Observer....